With
the original MUSIC software, Codemasters redefined the market's
expectations for music creativity software, traditionally viewed as a
niche product for a specialist home-studio audience.

The pan-European mass-market success has sealed Codemasters' commitment
to publish a sequel - MUSIC 2000

What's
it all about..?

MUSIC, launched November 98 and
endorsed by DJ Judge Jules, achieved pan-European chart success
throughout the peak-season going top 10 in the UK and top 5 in Germany.

Big
name clubs, DJs, artists and recording labels paid MUSIC serious
attention and are eager to be closely associated with the launch of the
sequel.

The software for MUSIC 2000 is far more powerful with additional
elements implemented for the casual music maker while the possibilities
for the more experienced computer music composer have been enhanced.

For
the casual music maker, MUSIC 2000 sequel will feature the possibility
of a simple plug-in microphone for sampling, a more diverse selection of
musical styles - including rock and indie - and MUSIC JAM a gameplay
element which enables four players to enter a jamming session with each
other in real-time.

True 24-track generation and MIDI compatibility are designed to appeal
to the more experienced user. A refreshed intuitive graphic user
interface, which can be switched between icon-driven or drop-down
feature menus, has been designed from the ground up.

Gavin
Morgan, managing director of Jester Interactive says: "To address
the current market, MUSIC 2000 is now even simpler to use, and made more
immediate with MUSIC JAM, yet we acknowledge the more musically-minded
sector and have increased the software's potential with such benefits as
MIDI compatibility. "The market penetration that Codemasters
achieved with MUSIC is staggering for music generation software.
Codemasters' determination to build on this even further makes us very
proud."

What
do we think..?

We loved the original MUSIC, however
it fell short of being a true utility that could be compared to many of
the PC sequencers. The above improvements (especially the MIDI
interface) mean that this could become a real money saving option for
home musicians and mixing fanatics around the world.

Better still, the new tie-up between Codemasters and Activision in the
USA means that this product will be released to both European and
American markets.

We are expecting review code within the next few weeks and will update
this preview with our hands-on experiences soon after that.

When
Can You Expect..?

Check our
RELEASE
DATES section to find out when its out in your area.

please note that this article should
not be reproduced in any form without the permission of A.P.I